Episode 9.23

Annie Kenney with Jared Padalecki

“Do You Believe in Miracles” ReviewBy Annie Kenney

So – I was in Birmingham at the weekend at Asylum (the British Supernatural Convention) and Jared (name dropping) told us that we would need tissues for the finale. Did I believe him? I was unsure about this season but his enthusiasm and excitement made me feel both hopeful and uneasy and – boy – was he right about those tissues…

I have not been the greatest fan of the storyline so far but the writers did what they often do and pulled it around at the last minute. I was absolutely gob-smacked and in tears at the same time and that, that is something that doesn’t happen very often! Amazing…

Firstly can I please say a sad and mournful goodbye to Gadreel who I adored! I am so glad he got his redemption in the end but it was really sad that he had to die to achieve it. This character has been nothing but fascinating since he was introduced and how I wish that the writers could have given him another season (even though – deep down – I knew it would end like this for him).

Usually I have a list of things I liked and didn’t like about the episode…but today I don’t have a list because I liked every single minute of it!! Everything came together in a glorious 45 minutes and it was incredible. I think I started crying about thirty minutes in and didn’t stop until the end credits. I have to give kudos to everyone for their acting because I felt every single second and I felt exhausted just by watching.

One of the things I have always loved (and recently missed) about Supernatural are the brother moments and it was fantastic that they made a return in this episode. Jared had already explained during his Asylum panel that Sam was lying when he told Dean he wouldn’t save him that he would just let him die and in this episode we saw that that was true. In the end Sam was preparing to make a deal for Dean and there was an awful sense of foreboding and inevitability about it. My mind kept skipping back over the seasons and I realised that while the story arc was similar to Season 4 (but with Dean being the addict rather than Sam), the end was extremely evocative of Season 2 (Sam cradling Dean and calling out his name…and me weeping piteously during that scene). The writers have pulled it back from the brink and they have also hit it into the stratosphere…I have no idea what is going to happen in Season 10 but I am sure that writers of Fan Fiction are already typing away!

In a way I was glad to see that Metatron was left alive; he might not be the big bad next season but I think he will have a part to play. I liked how the writers left Castiel with the problem of his stolen grace. Castiel is going to have to find a way out of his dilemma and I guess we will see him on a totally different journey next season.

I have already mentioned the acting but I have to say that both Jared and Jensen were excellent in this episode. It was so hard to watch Dean become something he didn’t want to be and it was even harder to hear him say that he would rather die than become evil. The fact that Sam was going to bring him back by any means tells me that no one has actually learned anything from the last nine seasons and the Winchester’s are still more than willing to sacrifice themselves for each other…

Jared was totally awesome; he hadn’t as much to do as in last year’s finale but somehow he was even better in this episode. For the first time we saw Sam riding in to rescue Dean, we saw Sam prepared to sacrifice himself for Dean. When Dean called Sam ‘Sammy’ again I was in floods of tears and when he punched him and went off to fight alone I was screaming at the screen. It is testament to the two actors concerned that we still care so much about the brothers and their relationship. It has been tried and tested all season but, in the end, it was clear that they still love each other and that makes me happy.

What now? Will Dean be the big bad next season? Will he join with the King of Hell and fight on the demon side. What can Castiel do to help with his stolen grace ceasing to work. How is Sam going to react when he sees his brother is a demon? How is he going to save Dean? Who is he going to turn to for help?

My mind is whirling with the endless possibilities; I have suddenly regained my passion and my interest. I want it to be October now!! I want spoilers, I want pictures, I want to know everything and I cannot possibly wait…

Thank you writers for making me excited again…it’s going to be a long, long, long summer…